Page 68 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

I was relieved to find him in his room. He was changing his clothes.

“Hey,” I said nervously and shut the door.

“Everything okay?” he asked, removing his long-sleeved white button-up shirt that had a red stain on it.

“Yeah. What happened?”

“Kayden spilled my drink on me. I just came up to change.” He reached for another shirt and slid his toned arms through the long sleeves.

I looked elsewhere to avoid any distractions at this moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tristan asked.

“Mmhmm,” I hummed, still looking elsewhere.

He walked to where I stood. He was standing too close, and his shirt buttons were still undone. His abs and prominent V-line were exposed. I looked up at the ceiling and tried to keep my composure.

“Chloe?” He used two fingers to lower my chin, making me meet his eyes. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“We need to talk,” I said and took a step back.

“Okay, I’m all ears.”

I swallowed and crossed my arms.I hope this goes well.“I had twins. Kayden has a twin.”

19

______________________

Hope

THREE YEARS AGO

I was in too much pain to care about the stares from the customers in the shop as Mrs. Rodriguez helped me out of the shop to the waiting cab that had taken an hour to get here. I’d thought I had experienced the worst pain, but this was different, like period cramps but one thousand times worse. It was as if someone were pulling every part of my body, to the point that it would rip away from my body.

“Breathe,” Mrs. Rodriguez whispered beside me the whole ride as I grunted in pain.

Just when I thought the pain was over, an intense wave of pressure shot through my body, and I felt like screaming.

Two nurses took me away immediately after we arrived at the hospital. It took hours before I could go into labor. Every push felt like I was dying, and at some point, I stopped and told the doctor I couldn’t do it.

Mrs. Rodriguez wasn’t in the room with me. She had left to get the basic needs for the babies. I felt so alone even if there were five people in the room. I lay back and cried. The agonizing pain and loneliness made me want to give up.

A nurse rushed to my side and whispered some words of encouragement while the doctor asked if I wanted a C-section. I kept trying for hours before the sound of crying echoed in the room, and the joy I felt at that moment dissolved every bit of worry, loneliness, and pain left.

I smiled and tried to touch the baby. I needed a little push to keep going. A touch from her flaky body was all I needed. They had to remind me that there was another baby I needed to push out. The second baby came out ten minutes later. All the health workers in the room smiled at me and congratulated me as they placed the twins on my bare chest. They were crying and still sticky from the fluid.

I held on to them with happy tears as I stared at them. It was like coming face-to-face with a stranger I’d known for nine months. I felt protective of them. There was a strong urge to provide for their every need and sacrifice everything for them.

They took the twins away after a few minutes and sedated me. I wanted to argue, but they told me I needed to rest and assured me the twins would be taken care of as I slowly slipped into darkness.

***

I woke up to the sound of people talking outside the door. My throat felt so dry, and I tried to say something, but no words came out. I felt sore all over and bruised between my legs. I winced as I tried to sit up. Every part of me was hurting, like I was being skinned alive.

I looked around the small hospital room, the memories slowly resurfacing.

“My babies.” I tried to force the words out, but I could barely hear my voice. I panicked, a pang of fear rushing through me at the thought of another betrayal.

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